The New Santa Cruz V10s and Reserve Wheels

We’ve seen them teased over and over on social media, shred edits and of course on the UCI World Cup circuit. The wagon-wheeled version of the Santa Cruz V10 has been one of the most hyped-up bikes of the year, and for a bike with a race pedigree like the V10, that hype is almost certainly warranted. The wait is finally over though—the new carbon V10s are finally here. And yes, you read that right—there are two new V10s. Better yet, Santa Cruz didn’t stop there; a new version of the much-loved Reserve wheels came along to party.

Santa Cruz, like many of the brands that now offer a 29er DH rig, will offer the new V10 will come in two versions, one for each wheel size. Don’t be fooled though, Santa Cruz hasn’t just built in a flip chip for wheel sizes—the two big bikes are actually completely different frames. That said, each frame still has a flip chip to tweak the geometry as well as adjust chainstay lengths.

Despite running two unique chassis, each V10 sports 215 millimeters of VPP-controlled travel out back. Taking a quick look at the numbers, apart from headtube angle and the reach numbers, there aren’t many similarities between the two V10s. The V10 29, per a given frame size, looks to be slightly bigger than the V10 27.5, which is more or less a given with the larger wheel size. See the geometry chart below to compare the two new V10s. Take note that the V10 29 is only offered in sizes M, L and LX, while the V10 27.5 is available S, M, and L.

Click to enlarge.

The new V10s will be available in two build kits, as well as a frame only with a Factory DHX2 shock. With both wheel sizes the component spec remains the same—this includes the Fox 40/49 fork which will come stock at 203 millimeters. The two builds, both in Santa Cruz’s CC top-tier carbon, are listed below for your comparison pleasure.

Click to enlarge.

Along with the new big rigs, Santa Cruz has also come up with new, DH-specific Reserve wheels. Available as rim-only or as a fully built set, the Reserve DH will only be offered in a 29-inch diameter, although the regular Reserve wheels in 27.5 are still around. The Reserve DH has a 31-millimeter inner width to fit modern 2.3- to 2.6-inch tires, and each rim weighs in at 690 grams, which is 200 grams more than the standard 29-inch Reserve 30.

The Reserve DH still has the lifetime warranty from Santa Cruz—bold for a wheel meant to take serious abuse.

If you want a fully built wheelset, Santa Cruz will lace the Reserve DH to a set of Syndicate-spec Chris King hubs (20×110 and 12×157 XD/HG). And they won’t come cheap—a wheelset retails at $2,500 and rims at $650. With a lifetime warranty though, it’s probably safe to say you’ll have them around long enough to get your money’s worth out of them.

Subtle graphics, but meant to carry you through big moves.

For more information about the new V10s or Reserve DH wheels, visit Santa Cruz’s website here.